Science takes lead in Biden-era virus briefings
WASHINGTON – No matter how encouraging Andy Slavitt’s news is at the government’s coronavirus briefings, he can always count on next-up Dr. Rochelle Walensky to deliver a downbeat.
After the tumultuous briefings of the Trump era – when top doctors would troop to the podium in the White House press room only to be upstaged by spurious pronouncements from Donald Trump himself – the thrice-weekly virtual sessions of 2021 have taken on a more restrained and predictable rhythm.
President Joe Biden stays away. The core players stick to their expertise. Data rules.
If the Trump briefings made for more stirring television, the Biden ones are designed to showcase the science-based side of the crisis, with a tone based more on facts than flourish.
The briefings generally open with Slavitt or Jeff Zients, the top White House official on the pandemic response, delivering an update on Biden’s latest efforts to contain the virus – a can-do if rather monotone message about what steps the administration is taking to protect people and get them vaccinated.
Next up is Walensky, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She brings the numbers.
With blunt clarity, she runs through the latest statistics on new cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the deadly disease that has coursed through the nation for more than a year, killing at least 550,000 in the U.S. Even when the trends are encouraging, she acts as a Greek chorus of one, warning people against letting down their guard.
Never was that more evident than Monday, when Walensky diverted from her script about a recent uptick in hospitalizations and deaths to confess that “right now I’m scared.” Her voice thick with emotion, Walensky said she had a recurring feeling of “impending doom” even though she noted many reasons for hope.
She laid out her fears that the country was headed for a “fourth surge” of the virus if people aren’t more careful, her words commanding headlines and overshadowing the president’s own announcement later in the day about new efforts to expand vaccination programs.
Biden himself echoed her sentiments, adding that “if we let our guard down now, we could see a virus getting worse, not better.”
Still, Walensky’s stark warning surprised even some White House aides, who have made a point of giving the doctors broad latitude to address the public, consistent with Biden’s pledge to let science guide the government response to the pandemic.
It’s quite a contrast to the last administration, when a series of top government advisers were silenced or self-censored for fear of sparking the ire of Trump, who tried to play down the threat of the virus to the public, even as its toll became clear.
There’s a political aim too, as the White House works to maintain its high approval ratings with the public for Biden’s handling of the virus.
Following Walensky’s situational update, then comes “next slide, please” Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The nation’s top infectious-disease expert, Fauci delivers a mini seminar, complete with charts and slides, citing the latest journal articles on rates of infection in different populations or the relative risks of various mutations or another pressing scientific question of the day.
Fauci’s chalk talks make it clear the briefings are aimed at more than one audience. He toggles from advice for caregivers and jargon that only a physician could parse to more plain-spoken pronouncements for the general public.